Here to Stay (11 page)

After dinner, with the kitchen cleaned and
the dishes put away, Calvin excused himself to watch some
television.

“Thanks for dinner,” Nathan told her. “I had
a nice time.”

“I knew you’d like Calvin—once you got to
know him.”

Paige followed Nathan onto the porch. A full
moon lit the yard and a surprisingly warm breeze stirred the
air.

“It’s nice out tonight,” he noted as he
slipped on his Stetson.

“Yes, it is.” Paige hugged her arms around
herself and fought the shiver that being alone with Nathan
generated.

Nathan stared at the plank porch floor for a
long moment.
Please go home, Nathan
. She couldn’t bear this
much longer.

“Good night,” he finally said. His gaze
rested on hers, but he made no move to leave.

“Good night.” Paige smiled a nervous little
smile. If he looked at her like that much longer, she’d simply die
on the spot.

Nathan touched the brim of his hat with two
fingers and turned away, She closed her eyes and breathed a tiny
sigh of relief—or perhaps regret.

“Oh, by the way,” Nathan turned around on the
first tread of the steps. “Send Calvin around tomorrow and I’ll
take him for a ride in the Vette.”

“That’s be great, Nathan.” She hurried across
the porch. With Nathan down a step, she stood almost at eye level
with him. “I didn’t want to ask you in front of Calvin, but I have
court in the morning. I’d really appreciate it if you would let him
hang out with you until I return. I don’t want him to be
alone.”

A frown creased Nathan’s brow. “What’s his
story?”

“I don’t know all the details yet, but we’re
going to talk tonight. I would just feel better if I knew you were
with him.”

Nathan nodded. “No problem.”

“Thanks.”

“I have one question.”

“Yes?”

“On rule number two, when you said friends
don’t kiss friends like that, did you mean there was some other way
of kissing that would be acceptable?”

If he only knew how much she wanted him to
kiss her again. Right now. But that would be a mistake. She sighed
and tried to read the emotion behind the intensity in his gaze.
What did he really want from her? He probably didn’t know what he
wanted any more than she knew what she wanted.

“I didn’t mean to complicate the issue,” he
said softly.

Paige leaned forward the few inches necessary
and kissed him on the cheek. “Good night, Nathan.”

He smiled and brought his fingers to the spot
she had kissed. “Good night.”

Paige turned and walked into the house
without looking back. She closed the door and sagged against it.
She would have to tell him about Jesse soon. No way could she
tolerate this kind of tension. He wanted more than friendship and
he wasn’t dong a very good job of hiding it.

Pushing away from the door, Paige headed for
the parlor. She had one more issue to deal with tonight. She
crossed the newly carpeted room and shut the television off. She
had awakened at seven this morning to find the carpet installers in
the parlor. Of course, they possessed a key.

“What’s up?” Calvin straightened from his
supine position on the couch. He propped his forearms on his
widespread knees.

Paige sat down beside him. “I need to know
why you’re so popular, Calvin.”

He dropped his head and blew out a heavy
breath. “My cousin A.J. works for the man.”

“I assume you mean Malcolm Reed, the drug
dealer?”

“Yeah.” He paused. “I was running late for
work. My car wouldn’t start and I didn’t want to get into trouble
with my boss so I hitched a ride with A.J.”

“Is A.J. one of the guys who took you for a
ride today?”

“Yeah. Him and Baby Dave.” Calvin shifted and
clasped his hands, twiddling his thumbs around each other.

“Did A.J. tell you something or show you
something he shouldn’t have?”

“Naw, he’s too smart for that. That day he
took me to work he got a call on his cell phone. The caller wasn’t
none too happy. So A.J. said he had to make a quick stop.” Calvin
shifted again. “What could I say? Beggars can’t be choosers, you
know?”

“I understand,” Paige assured him.

“When we got to the place, I waited in the
car for a long time like he told me to.” Calvin shrugged. “But I
was gonna be late for work, so I got nervous. I went on in the pawn
shop to see what was keeping my cuz.” He let out a long breath and
paused again. “The man running the place said gave A.J. a package
and told him he should be especially careful with it.” He fell
silent then.

“What happened then, Calvin?”

“A.J. yelled at me for coming in. Told me to
go back to the car.” Calvin rubbed his hands over his face. “He
said if I ever told anybody what I saw that I’d be history. Said he
had a hard time talking to the man into letting me walk as it
was.”

“Do you think A.J. had anything to do with
the drugs planted in your locker?”

“I figure they did that to make sure I
understood they were serious.” He shook his head slowly from side
to side. “I wish I’d just went on and called in late for work that
day.”

Paige put her arm around his shoulders and
squeezed. “Don’t worry, we’ll work this out, Calvin.”

“I appreciate everything you doing for me,
Miss P. But I don’t want to cause you no trouble.” He gazed at her
with the saddest eyes she had ever seen.

“You’re no trouble, Calvin.” She smiled.

Calvin returned her smile and then his
expression grew somber. “What’s the deal between you and Tonto—I
mean Nathan?”

“No deal, just old friends. We’ve known each
other since we were kids.”

“Yeah, right and my cousin A.J.’s the Pope.”
Calvin chuckled. “I got eyes, Miss P.”

“Well, I think you need to have your eyes
checked, because we’re only friends.”

Calvin snorted. “The man’s got it bad for you
and you’re only friends. Yeah, right.”

Paige shook her head. “Don’t be ridiculous,
Calvin.”

“Just ‘cause you blind, don’t mean I am. I
read the signals loud and clear. Old Nathan thinks you’re his
woman.”

“Well, old Nathan is wrong and so are you.
I’m my own woman,” Paige stated firmly.

“Whatever you say, Miss P.” Calvin shrugged.
“Personally, I don’t see what women see in the tall, silent type.
The man don’t have a sense of humor at all.”

Paige laughed. And when she started she
couldn’t stop. Tears streamed down her cheeks she laughed so hard.
She hugged her abdomen and tried to compose herself, but nothing
worked.

“Don’t strain yourself, Miss P., it ain’t
that funny.”

“I’m sorry, Calvin,” She choked out, her
breath catching on every other word. “You’re right. Nathan doesn’t
have a sense of humor. Everything’s serious to him.” She sucked in
a long breath and swiped her eyes.

“I know I’m right,” Calvin informed her. He
jutted his chin stubbornly. “I’m right about the other part, too.
Old Tonto’s crazy about you and you know it.”

Paige didn’t laugh this time. It wasn’t
funny, because she knew Calvin had hit the nail on the head.

Chapter Seven

“I can’t believe this,” she muttered to
herself as she bolted from her car. Paige took a deep breath,
grasped her briefcase a little tighter and headed for the
courthouse as fast as she could in heels. She had fifteen minutes
to meet her assistant Denise, get the file on the Redmond case, and
be in court.

Paige had left Trinity in plenty of time, but
she had somehow managed to get behind every farm tractor between
Trinity and the interstate. She cursed planting season, John Deere,
and the inventor of high heel shoes as she half-ran, half-stumbled
down the busy sidewalk. She muttered “excuse-me’s” as she pushed
her way through the going-to-work crowd. Nothing riled Judge
Mattson more than tardiness.

God, she was so late. Her heels tapped
against stone as she hurriedly climbed the steps to the courthouse.
She glanced at her wrist watch. Ten minutes. She might make it—just
barely.

She looked up just in time to see a hefty
figure before it collided with her. A wave of something cold and
wet flowed down her chest. She gasped from the cold and the impact.
Paige teetered for a moment, ready to tumble down the steps she’d
just climbed. A beefy hand grasped her arm and steadied her.

Her gaze darted from the robust man before
her to the carry-out tray and Styrofoam cups scattered around her
feet. She winced at the mess in between. Orange juice stained her
white blouse and mint green blazer. Grape jelly smeared her breasts
and midriff as half a jelly biscuit oozed down the material. He’d
obviously been eating the biscuit at the time of the collision.

“I’m so sorry,” the man exclaimed, plucking
the sticky biscuit from the waistband of her skirt. “I guess I
wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Paige stared down at herself and then up at
him in disbelief. This couldn’t be happening. Not today.

“I’ll be happy to pay your dry cleaning
bill,” he added apologetically. The man a yanked a clean, white
handkerchief from his pocket and swiped at the purple jelly.

His hands fumbling over her breasts snapped
Paige back to reality. “It’s all right,” she assured and moved away
from his helpful hands. “I should have been watching where I was
going. Sorry about your breakfast,” she added, rushing past him.
The man called back another apology, but Paige kept going.

She bounded through the courtroom doors,
sweeping her gaze over the milling crowd for Denise. Her hands felt
like ice and every nerve ending in her body vibrated. One pair of
curious eyes after the other inspected her disheveled
appearance.

“What happened to you?” Denise asked as she
emerged from the throng of people.

“Don’t ask. What am I going to do?” She
peered down at herself and shook her head. “I can’t go to court
looking like this and there’s no time for me to go home and
change.”

“Come with me,” Denise ordered. She pulled
Paige into the ladies’ room and locked the door behind them.

“Water won’t help,” Paige protested, trying
to decide on some sort of strategy.

“Take your clothes off,” Denise told her,
already removing her own.

“Excuse me?” Totally confused, her gaze shot
to Denise.

“Hurry, Paige,” Denise urged. “You can wear
my outfit to court and I’ll wear yours home and change.”

“I can’t wear your clothes,” Paige denied.
She stripped off her blazer despite the denial she’d just
uttered.

“We’re the same size,” Denise insisted.

“Size isn’t the problem.” Paige shucked her
blouse and skirt, her body doing the only logical thing while her
brain struggled to arrive at any other alternative. She quickly
slipped on the lavender dress Denise had taken off. “Oh, my God,”
Paige muttered as she viewed herself in the mirror. The dress
hugged everything from collar to hem. Denise’s taste in fashion
varied greatly from Paige’s. Night and day would be a good
comparison.

“This is why I can’t wear your clothes,” she
muttered, still trying to convince herself she couldn’t do this
even though she knew she had no other choice.

Denise stuck Paige’s briefcase in her hand.
“You’re due in court right now.” She pushed Paige out the door. “By
the way, Mr. Redmond won’t be here this morning.”

“What?” Paige pivoted to face her.

“He had to be rushed to the emergency room
early this morning for an appendectomy. It was too late to reach
you when I received the call. He’ll be out in a few days.”

Paige shook her head vigorously in an effort
to force her grey matter into activity and out of its current
catatonic state. “I’ll have to ask for a continuance.”

“That’s right, counselor. See you later.”
Denise patted her on the back and scurried away.

“Thanks.” Paige smoothed her hand over the
soft, clingy fabric of the dress she now wore. She steeled herself
and strode in the direction of the courtroom. She was still a
professional no matter what she wore. Right? Silence echoed inside
her head, effectively diminishing her already waning confidence.
Look at the bright side, Paige. When you get through this you
can be with Jesse.
She smiled. Now there was something to look
forward to.

Judge Mattson had just given the order to be
seated when Paige entered the filled-to-capacity room. The judge’s
mouth gaped, as did Mr. Myers’s when their eyes came to rest on
Paige.

Paige hurried to her place on the left side
of the bench.

“The people versus Redmond,” the bailiff
announced.

“Your Honor, defense requests a continuance
due to Mr. Redmond’s unexpected hospitalization. He was taken early
this morning for an emergency appendectomy. I am prepared to
proceed; however, in light of my client’s unavoidable absence, I
feel a continuance is warranted.” Paige took a breath and tried to
keep her expression calm though humiliation had consumed her. She
felt every eye on the courtroom on her back.

“Your Honor, I have no objection to the
defense’s request,” Joe Myers stated, his eyes hardly leaving Paige
long enough to give the judge a compulsory glance.

“Miss Weston, approach the bench,” Judge
Mattson requested.

Paige moistened her parched lips and stepped
forward. Her face burned with embarrassment. “Yes, your Honor?”

The judge leaned forward, his gaze full of
concern. “Somehow you don’t quite look yourself today. Is there
something I should know?” he asked for her ears only.

“I had a little accident on the way into the
courthouse, your Honor,” Paige whispered, mortified. “I had to
change clothes with Denise.”

“Oh,” he said knowingly, a smile peeking past
his judicial demeanor. “Just so long as your attire wasn’t a ploy
to throw Mr. Myers off balance.”